


White Noise

by stilinskitrash



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Angst, Band Fic, Bellarke, F/M, Fluff, Romantic Fluff, basically I'm trash, idk what to tag this, this is just a lot of fluff I regret nothing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-26
Updated: 2016-04-26
Packaged: 2018-06-04 17:41:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6668152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stilinskitrash/pseuds/stilinskitrash
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"my guitarist quit the night before the gig that could mean the big break for a band that i have put my soul into and supposedly you’re really good but i swear to god if you screw this up for me i will hunt you down and slit your throat"</p>
            </blockquote>





	White Noise

**Author's Note:**

> FIRSTLY when reading about the song they perform, it's actually White Noise by Pvris, so listen to that whilst you read it!
> 
> This is awful because there's no context or anything but it's just a small thing inspired by an AU prompt and I haven't written any bellarke or anything really in a while soooo

There was nothing Clarke loved more than being on stage. Not much compared to the feeling of adrenaline and accomplishment she felt when she strummed her fingers across the strings of her guitar, singing at the top of her lungs beside her best friends. That's why tonight was so important to her; it was their big break. If tonight went well, the rest would slip into place. Somehow, Raven, the drummer of their band Sky Crew, had managed to lure a manager from a local record label down to their shows tonight. She wouldn't divulge just how she’d managed it, and instead insisted she had 'connections'. Clarke couldn't care less how she’d convinced them to come. This was their chance.

The venue was cramped to say the least but still the biggest they'd played, filling nearly 300 people. The stage was no more than a metre from the ground, and they were definitely going to have to bring their own instruments. But Clarke loved backstage. Their makeshift dressing room was essentially a large, disused storage room. It was cold. The walls were plastered with posters from various gigs, comedy acts, and album release shows. Scribbling’s in gaps between posters read the signatures of bands that'd previously played the venue, and even a few phone numbers littered the walls. Their dressing mirrors were dirty, and only half the light bulbs that adorned them even worked. It was dinghy, and grunge, and exactly what Clarke loved; real, old school, rock and roll.

She wanted to do this for all her life. Fuck what her mom said; you have to love what you do to be truly happy - that was something her dad had always told her - and Clarke did not love medical school. She didn't love hours of studying, only to be riddled with anxiety before any big exam. She didn't love the pressure of feeling like she had to live up to the college's, her mom's, or her own internalised expectations. Music set her free from all of that.

Lounging around in the dressing room with only an hour to go was when her dream became a little hazy suddenly. Octavia, their bassist and youngest of the quartet, rushed through the door, panic lacing her face. "Fuck." Was all she said, as she slammed the door behind her and leaned against it. "Fuck?" This time it was more of a question to herself, as her eyes flitted around the room.

"What?" Clarke stared at her, worried for the girl. "What happened? Did you break something?" She asked, referring to Octavia's regularly clumsy nature.

"Hey, I resent that." She frowned, pointing a finger at the blonde, before shaking her head. "Atom just called me." Atom was their guitarist and the lead singer alongside Clarke; an essential member of the band who happened to be running late. "Oh, good," Clarke nodded, "Where is he?"

"He’s not coming."

"Excuse me?" This came from Raven, whose head appeared from behind the rack of clothing in front of her dressing table. An earphone hung from her ear, indicating she hadn't been previously paying attention, only eavesdropping slightly. Raven liked to psyche herself up before a gig by listening to music, and she listened to anything; Taylor Swift to Metallica. "What do you mean?"

Octavia silently dropped herself onto the worn leather sofa, looking between the other two girls. "He quit." The disbelief in her voice seemed to echo throughout the room as no one as spoke, only stared at her, as if this was some kind of prank.

"You're kidding me, right? This is a joke?" Raven laughed dubiously.

Octavia shook her head rapidly, and brought out her phone. A voicemail began playing, Atom's voice sounding shaky down the other side of the line. "O? I'm sorry to call, you like this, I-um, well, there's not really a good way to put this. I'm leaving the band. I can't do it; I just-just had this realisation that, like, this isn't all I want from life. I'm not cut out for this - forever. I'm sorry. Tell everyone I'm sorry. I'll see you all soon. I love you."

"Fuck!" Raven swore just as it ended with a beep, standing up and slamming her fist into the wall, to which Clarke grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her down. She couldn't fuck up her hand right before the gig. "Of all nights to quit?” She continued to rave. “He chooses tonight? Great timing. Asshole!"

Clarke hadn't really registered anything Atom had said after "I'm leaving the band", her own shock taking a while to settle in. "Hey, hey, stop it!" She shouted, placing both hands on either side of the brunette, with a stern look. "We can still play tonight, right? We can talk to Atom tomorrow. We can sort this."

"We're fucked." Octavia said, matter of fact-like, slumping down further into the sofa.

"No, we're not. I-I can play guitar. I can sing both parts, it'll be easy." Clarke tried to reason, pacing around the room with her hands on her hips.

Raven stood up in her path, halting her. "It'll be shit."

"Cut that attitude out, right now." Clarke tried to sound stern, but she knew she was practically begging. This band couldn't fall apart. She tried to remind herself that this was just a minor setback, but losing a member wasn't particularly minor. This was all she had. She tried not to resent Atom, because she knew she couldn't force anyone to stay in the band, but the irrational side of her mind was screaming fuck him.

The trio sat in silence, each of them practically pulling out their hair. Half an hour until show time, and they were a man down. Clarke couldn't possibly sing every song and all the parts on her own, and her guitar skills had grown a little rusty from the slack she cut herself when Atom took on lead guitar. If only she'd stuck with those lessons she'd received from -

That’s when the idea struck her. "We'll get someone to stand in." She announced, marveling at her own idea. Duh.

Octavia, looked up at her, and nodded slowly, "yeah… But who?"

Clarke winced before the name even fell out of her mouth, knowing Octavia's reaction. "Bellamy?"

A sputtered laugh came from Raven across the room, as if Clarke had just said something hilarious, and not at all serious. Bellamy Blake, Octavia's older brother, had taught Clarke how to play guitar for three years when she was in high school, and it was actually how she'd met Octavia. He was only three years older than herself, and far more experienced at playing guitar. She was also fairly sure he still practiced, even though she hadn’t seen him play in a while. He attended a college as a history major at least three hours from the apartment the three girls shared, but somehow he always made time to come down and spend time with Octavia (and consequently Clarke). She also knew that Bellamy knew some of their songs, and the guitar parts, as it was no secret he had helped Octavia write some of her bass parts.

"Are you kidding?" Octavia scoffed, looking to Raven to back her up, who just shrugged like she actually thought it was a decent idea. Or maybe she just didn't really care.

"No. You said he was in town, right? Shall I call him? I'll call him."

"How do you have his number?" Octavia questioned, just as Clarke began calling his number into her phone. "Clarke, no!"

"Hey, Bellamy?"

"Hey, princess." She knew the nickname was coming, but Clarke still had to try not to blush at that; he had a thing about insisting on calling her princess. She didn't really know why, and she didn't hate it. At first it had annoyed her, but after nearly ten years of hearing it from him, she didn't particularly mind (but she still noticed). "What can I do you for?"

"You're in town right now, aren't you? How fast can you get to the Academy Bar, downtown?"

"Trying to get me drunk so early in the evening, are we?" She didn't need to see him to be able to know he was smirking right now.

Clarke sighed, it wouldn't be the first time they'd got drunk together.Without Octavia. "This is serious, Bel. Atom left the band, and we need a guitarist. I also happen to know you have a good set of vocals on you..."

"Shit. Yeah, yeah.” Clarke frowned at his instant agreement, but breathed a sigh of relief. “I guess I can be there in like fifteen?"

Mouthing 'he said yes' to her band mates, whose faces noticeably changed with relaxed, Clarke laughed anxiously down the phone. "Thank god, you're really saving our asses here, Blake."

"It's no problem." He chuckled, and she could hear the sound of him starting up a car. "And when have you ever heard me singing, princess?"

In the shower, Clarke thought to herself, through the thin walls of her apartment. In her and Octavia's kitchen when he doesn't think anyone's home. Or whilst he was doing the washing up, or when he has headphones on whilst he’s trying to write an essay. But Clarke only smiled, "Be here in fifteen, or I'll hunt you down." And she cancelled the call.

"Get ready, girls. Looks like we're performing as a four, after all."

Bellamy was impeccably on time, taking only 10 minutes to rush over. 20 minutes to go till showtime. He was dressed in ripped black jeans, a black tank top, and an unbuttoned navy plaid shirt. He looked good. Clarke pretended she didn't notice, whereas Raven noticeably checked him out, pursing her lips and nodding, "he'll do," as if they had any other option. Grabbing Atom's old guitar, Clarke passed it to him to tune, along with a sheet of music to skim over, and a setlist.

"You've heard us play these songs before, haven't you?" She asked, peering over his shoulder as he read it.

"Yeah," he knitted his eyebrows, "definitely. Except for that one." He pointed to a song in the middle of the setlist. It was one of their newer ones.

"Ah, okay, we can... We could do a cover there instead?" She looked to the girls for agreement, and they all nodded, not really paying attention as they got ready and Octavia strummed her bass experimentally. "What song?"

Sky Crew's genre was pretty alternative, but the members collectively had a pretty diverse taste in music. Whilst enjoying alt rock, Clarke owned many Elliot Smith and Prince records. Octavia actually really liked house music, but was weak for some classic Ed Sheeran. and Raven had been to every Panic! At The Disco concert she could since 2009. This meant they were open to covering any song under the sun, but it was a matter of choosing one that they thought their audience might like.

Bellamy smiled up at Clarke, his dark curls tumbling over his forehead. "Ho Hey? By The Lumineers?"

Clarke couldn't help but think that a) it was one of her favourite songs, and b), an incredibly romantic, sweet song. And she'd have to sing it with Bellamy Blake. "I-I, yeah. Sounds great." She managed. "I'm assuming you know the guitar parts?" Clarke sure as hell did.

He smirked like she was asking an obvious question, "'Course. I couldn't get it out of my head after you sang it around the apartment for a month straight. I felt compelled to learn it." Every time Bellamy made her smirk, she felt like he was winning one over on her, so she tried her best to repress the colour spreading over her cheeks. He learnt a song just because Clarke liked it.

  
The door to their dressing room opened abruptly, and Clarke was thankful for it. If he made her blush one more time she'd probably have to apply another layer of foundation to mask it. One of the venue workers peered in, wearing a headset microphone. "You're on in five." He warned, before disappearing again. Octavia called the four of them in, and insisted they huddle together. Wrapping her left arm around Bellamy's neck, and her right around Raven's, Clarke listened to Octavia's usual pre-concert mantra.

"We're gonna smash this, guys. I love you all. Even you, Bel. We got this. If any of you fuck up, we can fix it on stage, but I'll beat your ass backstage. Alright. Go team!"

They slipped onto the stage in the darkness, positioning themselves on the stage and testing their instruments. Raven gave her drums an experimental tap each, and Clarke tapped the microphone. The crowd was practically buzzing in front of them, but through the dark she couldn't make out how many people were there. It sounded like a lot. She gave a nod to the sound and light control team at the side of the stage, and suddenly the place lit up, stage lights illuminating the crowd and themselves.

"Holy shit." She heard Octavia chuckle behind her. Raven sat behind her kit at the back, and Bellamy was right beside her, looking out to the crowd. The whole place was full, all the way to the back of the venue hall. The faces of the crowd looked up to them in excitement and adoration, and Clarke felt the blood pumping in her veins. This was why she was alive.

"Hey, guys," she spoke into her microphone, receiving an instant cheer from the crowd, which only made her smile more. "It's so good to see you all! We're Sky Crew, and before you wonder who this guy is," she indicated to Bellamy, "he's a friend. And he's pretty awesome on guitar." Cue more cheering and a few wolf whistles. "Anyways, we hope you enjoy our set." And with that, Bellamy began strumming the first chords to their opening song, the rest of the band taking their queue and harmonising along.

"It's hard to be what you need through a static screen, been trying to speak for weeks and weeks. Open my mouth, all that comes out is white noise and incomprehensible sounds, and all you ever do is turn me down." Clarke sang the verse, putting her all into every note, not being able to forget the sound of people below her singing along.

"I'm watching, I'm waiting. I'm aching, suffocating. I'm breathing, I'm speaking. Can you hear me? I'm screaming for you." She was surprised, and excited, once Bellamy sang along with her during the chorus, his voice sounding better with hers than she could've imagined. By the way he sang Clarke could tell he was channelling everything he had into it already. She was even pretty sure that Bellamy knew how much this song meant to her, and the pain and struggle that had inspired it. Bellamy had been there, with Clarke, through a lot of shit. When she really thought about it, it surprised her that they hadn't asked Bellamy to play with them before this.

After every song, Bellamy would pass Clarke a smile that read, "you okay?", and she'd reply with a nod and butterflies in her stomach. She loved playing with her friends, more than anything; more than the feeling you get when you wake up on your birthday, or when someone spends the time to write you a handwritten letter. But something was different when she was blasting out her own songs next to Bellamy. She tried not to watch him as his fingers strummed masterfully against the strings, and he grasped his microphone, eyes closing as he hit the notes on time. It was hypnotising.

When they reached the part of the set where they'd agreed to do a cover, (just after Raven's five minute conversation with the crowd about who the best member of Aerosmith was) Octavia and Raven left the stage to freshen up. A man from backstage hurriedly brought on two stools per request, and Bellamy sat down on one beside Clarke. They even brought out a ukulele for her, one of the few instruments beside guitar she could say she was pretty good at.

The crowd watched on with silent anticipation, as they tested out the chords together, like it was just the two of them in the room. "You ready?" She asked, not making eye contact as she continued to tune her uke.

"Absolutely."

Clarke faced the crowd, tucking a strand of loose blonde hair behind her ear, and clearing her throat. "So, this is a cover of a song that I'm pretty sure you all know." She announced, looking at Bellamy. "We're just gonna... Yeah, sing it, I guess." The crowd cheered, as they did when anyone said anything on stage.

Counting them in, Bellamy tapped on his guitar. "One, two, three, go." He almost whispered, and before she knew it his fingers were working their magic again.

"Ho, hey! Ho, hey!" They both sang quietly as they strummed the intro. Clarke was surprised when suddenly the crowd lit up out of the corner of her eye, and she glanced up to see people with their phone lights switched on, like lighters, swaying from side to side,

"I've been trying to do it right, I've been living a lonely life. I've been sleeping here instead, I've been sleeping in my bed. Sleeping in my bed." She sang softly, Bellamy still singing the intro in a quieter tone.

"So show me family," the pace picked up, as a smile spread across Clarke's face, and she felt warm from happiness and contentment. "all the blood that I would bleed. I don't know where I belong, I don't know where I went wrong. But I can write a song." The last line earned her a gentle nudge from Bellamy, winking at her, like it was some inside joke. If she was blushing now, everyone would've seen it.

"I belong with you, you belong with me, you're my sweetheart. I belong with you, you belong with me, you're my sweet." Their voices seemed to interlock, creating a sweet melody as they recited the lyrics they both knew so well, having learnt them accidentally from one another.

Before Clarke could managed the second verse, Bellamy cut her off, his vocal chords ringing through the mic at such a passionate sound. "I don't think you're right for him, look at what it might have been if you took a bus to China Town. I'd be standing on Canal, and Bowery." Then he looked at her before the last line, with a humble grin and smiling eyes and Clarke was so captivated and couldn't help but think about how fucking cliche this was, and fuck, she might have been in love with him. Maybe. "And she'd be standing next to me."

Her voice almost cracked as she joined in again with the chorus, the crowd supporting them by singing along. "I belong with you, you belong with me, you're my sweetheart. I belong with you, you belong with me, you're my sweetheart. Love. We need it now. Let's hope for some, 'cause, oh, we're bleeding out."

Dropping their voices to a quieter volume in sync, they reached the last repetition of the chorus, and Clarke knew she'd been smiling like a forlorn school girl the entire song, but she couldn't have cared less. And she knew Raven and Octavia had been watching on and would riddle her with questions and accusations after, but Bellamy was either unfazed by or hadn't noticed the colour in her cheeks and how she kept feeling like she needed to lower her eyes every time his irises met hers. "I belong with you, you belong with me, you're my sweetheart. I belong with you, you belong with me, you're my sweet."

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is awesome :) 
> 
> If you guys liked this I'll write a part 2, but it'll only have 2 parts as a maximum!! If I did a part 2 it might be a little more steamy? More bellarke intense-ness? Like after the show...
> 
> Updated note 17/5/17: henlo friends  
> I just edited this cause wow i wasn't happy with it but only minor things have been edited nothing to worry about. Hopefully it's just better quality now. And yes I know I said there'd be another chapter but writers block is a BITCH! It's still on my to do list somewhere so we shall see. Follow me on tumblr! noahfcsters !! annoy me there :))


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